It might be getting on a bit but amid the 'e-mobility' worthiness at the VW group preview evening Lamborghini's Gallardo LP570-4 Squadro Corse brought a much needed sense of hedonism.
SC presented alongside its racing cousins
Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann introduced the car positioned between Super Trofeo and GT3 race versions to hammer home the car's links with competition Lamborghinis. This after admitting that Ferruccio Lamborghini himself never had much interest in racing, leaving that to those prancing horses down the way.
Winkelmann doesn't share the company founder's view here though, the Super Trofeo now in its fifth year and with series all over the world including, from this year, the US.
The Squadro Corse, as well as creating a bit of noise for Lamborghini in an attempt to divert attention from the 458 Speciale and give the Gallardo a bit of a send-off, is clear in its links to these racing cars. Indeed, it's got the same rear wing (three times the downforce of a regular Gallardo apparently) and the engine is identical in both.
One final trip into the ring for the raging bull
At 1,340kg dry the Squadro Corse is 70kg less than the standard Gallardo and will hit 0-62 in 3.8 seconds and 0-125mph in 10.4, topping out at exactly 200mph. It wouldn't see which way the 458 Speciale went though, the 605hp Ferrari hitting 62 in three dead, 125mph in 9.1 seconds and a skinny blonde passenger's worth lighter.
But it still looks pretty mean and the standard Gallardo LP560-4 hasn't been forgotten either, Winkelmann acknowledging it as "the godfather of all other Gallardo designs". Its replacement, unofficially confirmed as coming at Geneva next year, will have a lot to live up to.
